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The 15 Best Body-Positive Moments Of 2017

'Show me something natural like a** with some stretch marks.'

By Chelsea Peng
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Twitter

'Show me something natural like a** with some stretch marks.'

Chrissy Teigen's Annual Stretch Mark Acceptance PSA

Leg, Human leg, Skin, Thigh, Joint, Arm, Human body, Foot, Knee, Finger,
Twitter

Relatability hero Chrissy Teigen continued her crusade with a yearly showing of her stretch marks, because they're 'whatevs,' as she put it. This is a great tradition that we must preserve.

Lady Gaga's Super Bowl Performance Response

Animation, Font, Muscle, Media, Screenshot, Display advertising, Advertising,
Instagram

She didn't have to respond to dudes with beer guts criticizing her body, but she did—and it was classy and entirely far more mercy than they deserve. 'I could give you a million reasons why you don't need to cater to anyone or anything to succeed,' she captioned a photo of herself from the halftime show. 'Be you, and be relentlessly you. That's the stuff of champions.' Also great: when her fans jumped in.

Demi Lovato's Celebration of Her Non-Thigh Gap

Skin, Leg, Thigh, Human leg, Joint, Finger, Knee, Hand, Flesh, Elbow,
Instagram

Once more for those in the back or those in the front who can't see small font: 'I don't have a thigh gap and I'm still beautiful the way I am. #recovery#selflove #EVERYbodyisbeautiful.' Pretty clear, those hashtags, so no more fighting in the comments about whether that means people who *do* have thigh gaps are excluded. (They are not.)

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Hillary Duff Beating the Gossip Rags to Her "Celeb Flaws"

Clothing, Swimwear, One-piece swimsuit, Summer, Headgear, Sun hat, Bikini, Hat, Photography, Monokini,
Instagram

'Ladies, lets be proud of what we've got and stop wasting precious time in the day wishing we were different, better, and unflawed,' Duff captioned a pap pic of her on vacation with her son. 'You guys (you know who you are!) already know how to ruin a good time, and now you are body shamers as well. #kissmyass.' Solid gold.

Jasmine Owens' Beach-Body Revelation

Muscle, Vacation, Human, Fun, Bikini, Summer, Swimwear, Chest, Adaptation, Barechested,
Instagram

'I simply wanted to share a photo of me enjoying life freely without hiding my body,' the 25-year-old said. 'This was the first time I had ever wore a two-piece to the beach, let alone in front of my husband, and I felt the need to share the confidence I had in myself.' Though there were some negative comments (what else is new), there were were many, many more likeminded people who applauded Owens' self-love.

Kelly Clarkson's Confidence in the Face of Fat-Shaming

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Twitter

If you're going to write 'You're fat' to Kelly Clarkson (why though), you're not going to get the satisfaction of her anger.

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The Followup to Amanda Roberts' Skin Removal Surgery

Brassiere, Lingerie, Undergarment, Clothing, Abdomen, Undergarment, Thigh, Photography, Chest, Stomach,
Instagram

After the body-positive Instagrammer underwent surgery to remove excess skin from her weight loss, some fans attacked her for what they perceived as her false self-acceptance. 'They said that if I truly loved myself, I wouldn't want to change anything about myself, but the way I see it: If you love yourself, you'll do whatever YOU feel is best for your body,' Roberts told BuzzFeed. Amen.

Pink Feeling Her "Post-Baby Body"

Strength training, Physical fitness, Joint, Arm, Leg, Squat, Sports, Shoulder, Footwear, Exercise,
Instagram

Directly contrasting the past conversation around the great celebrity pregnancy-weight-dropping race, Pink posted an Instagram whose message conveyed that you can still love your body while wanting to improve it. 'I know I'm not at my goal or anywhere near it after Baby 2 but dammit I don't feel obese,' she wrote. 'The only thing I'm feeling is myself.'

Rihanna's Statement to the Body-Shamers (in the Form of a Gucci Mane Meme)

Skin, Text, Human, Font, Adaptation, Muscle, Photography, Chest, Neck,
Instagram

It's the classic story: Boneheaded men wonder if Rihanna will make "being fat a new trend." People are understandably like, 'Who asked you?' But instead of taking the bait, RiRi rises above it all with humour, which she would do again (keep scrolling, ladies and gentlemen).

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Rihanna Matter-of-Factly Discussing Her "Fluctuating Body Type"

Fashion, Event, Premiere, Suit, Dress, Photography, Street fashion, Haute couture, Crowd, Selfie,

Without making any value judgments, Rihanna talked about dressing her body through its changes. 'You having a skinny week? You having a fat week? Are we doing arms this week? We doing legs this week? We doing oversized?' she said in an interview with The Cut. Note the lack of excuse-making and self-loathing.

Serena Williams' Reddit Essay

Text, Font, Document, Number,
Reddit

After her daughter's birth, Serena 'GOAT' Williams wrote a moving essay (dedicated to her mother) about being proud of her body and what it can do. 'I'm not sure how you did not go off on every single reporter, person, announcer, and quite frankly, hater, who was too ignorant to understand the power of a black woman,' she wrote, addressing her mother. 'I am proud we were able to show them what some women look like. We don't all look the same. We are curvy, strong, muscular, tall, small, just to name a few, and all the same: we are women and proud!'

Zendaya's Modeling Offer to a Woman Being Body-Shamed Online

Text, Line, Font, Icon, Screenshot,
Twitter

Left: the clapback. Here, the context: After she spotted a woman being body-shamed online, Zendaya enlisted her fans' help tracking her down to offer her a modelling gig. Way to turn a situation around, and way to use your powers for good, Internet.

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Sara Shakeel's Stunning Stretch Mark Collages

Skin, Joint, Leg, Abdomen, Thigh, Knee, Stomach, Human leg,
Instagram

In a powerful Instagram series, the Pakistani-based artist superimposed glitter and diamonds onto stretch marks, bringing attention and beauty to 'something you [don't] talk about on a regular basis.'

Kendrick Lamar's Ode to Natural Beauty

Text, Font, Media,
Instagram

Alongside a split screen of a woman with make-up vs. a bare face and slicked-back vs. natural hair, Kendrick Lamar raps the pictured lyrics on 'Humble.' Not bad to have a body-positivity moment in a heavyweight contender for Track of the Year.

From: Marie Claire US
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